Overcoming Barriers in Communication for Patient Disclosure in Movement Disorders: Kelly Papesh, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

"If you build that trust, you build the connection, and you build that relationship, which sets a great foundation [for patients] to able to trust [you]; answering the questions, [talking about] the hard topics, and wanting to share with [their provider] when there's something that typically they may withhold."

In the clinical setting, asking the right questions can offer more relevant details about patients’ disease state, including concerns about symptoms or adverse effects from treatments, as well as enhance patient outcomes and quality of life. In a short anonymous survey, a large number of patients reported that they withheld certain symptoms or experiences of a movement disorder from their healthcare provider; however, most believed that disclosure could be beneficial in addressing their problems.¹ Challenges such as limited office visit time, communication barriers, increasingly complex symptoms, polypharmacy, and patient discomfort may explain the reason for why patients may withhold actionable information from their providers.

At the 3rd Annual Advanced Therapeutics in Movement and Related Disorders (ATMRD) Congress, held by the PMD Alliance from June 22-25, 2024, Kelly Papesh, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, and colleagues held a panel discussion along with patients and care partners to discuss their experiences with effective communication and how it might impact treatment outcomes. In the talk, Papesh and the other speakers talked about how clinicians can more effectively prompt patients for the right information and create a safe space for sharing, in addition to other alternative methods for patients to document and share data.

During the Congress, Papesh, executive director of the Association of Movement Disorder Advanced Practice Providers (AMDAPP), sat down with NeurologyLive^® in an interview to further discuss the primary reasons why patients with movement disorders, specifically Parkinson disease, may withhold information from their healthcare providers. Papesh, who also serves as a nurse practitioner and the clinical director at PMD Alliance, spoke about how clinicians can create a more trusting and open environment for their patients. Moreover, she talked about the specific topics patients find most difficult to discuss with their providers based on findings from the recently conducted survey.

Click here for more coverage of ATMRD 2024.

REFERENCES
1. Mitchell A, Papesh K, Pagan F, Torres-Yaghi Y, Zeilman P. Lips Sealed: What Your Patients Aren't Telling You. Presented at: ATMRD; June 22-25, 2024; Washington, DC.